


i'm not iron

by Cheesecloth



Category: Gake no Ue no Ponyo | Ponyo
Genre: Gen, Ponyo loves a lot of things including ham, Poor Fujimoto is an anxious mess of a dad, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:55:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24060109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheesecloth/pseuds/Cheesecloth
Summary: He wanted to hear from his daughter earlier, to make sure his daughter is still perfectly happy and healthy. But the small, intelligent child insisted that she was fine. That she loves him and will always love him, and that he didn’t need to worry.Ridiculous! Since she was born she was a tiny bundle of chaos!
Comments: 13
Kudos: 60





	i'm not iron

**Author's Note:**

> title is the name of a song, I'm Not Iron - Rhunym  
> not related but i still really like the song

Fujimoto desperately needed a nap.

His dear Ponyo was due to give him a call soon on the human “radio” contraption, now that he’s resurfacing for the week from his research.

The waves rolled pleasantly past his ship. His sea creature acquaintances circled lazily, waiting for him to head back into the depths so they could show off their luminescent flanks and breathe magic into their gills. Fujimoto scoffed at them.

He wanted to hear from his daughter earlier, to make sure his daughter is still perfectly happy and healthy. But the small, intelligent child insisted that she was fine. That she loves him and will always love him, and that he didn’t need to worry.

Ridiculous! Since she was born she was a tiny bundle of chaos!

Fujimoto grumbled under his breath. He loves Ponyo _so_ dearly, but he’s also an anxious mess. What if she walks onto a boat at the docks and it leaves without knowing she’s on it, and she can’t find her human family? Sure, she could slip into the sea and perhaps find her way home, but there are too many unknown variables…

What if she slipped and fell while running around the park that’s no longer flooded?

What if she and Sosuke have a fight and she’s heartbroken and Fujimoto won’t know it until he’s called?

Why didn’t she just agree to the daily call? Fujimoto huffs with worried exasperation. The gulls in the sky screeched with glee and he hid the radio from them in case they thought it was food. They’re dastardly creatures.

Is he being too protective? To overbearing? She’s five! He _should_ be protective and overbearing! Right?

After what happened last time, where Ponyo nearly _destroyed the entire earth by pulling the moon in too close_ , Fujimoto believes he’s absolutely entitled to worry. The humans have no way to reign in her magic. Neither did _he_ , really, but… It should be no understatement that he is beyond distressed.

“ _Papa? Hello? Is this papa_?”

“Ponyo!” The electronic contraption gifted to him nearly slipped into the water in his excitement, and he grabbed for it wildly before the shifty-eyed water creature beside him could eat it. It gurgled in disappointment.

“Ponyo, my daughter, how are you? Is everything alright? If absolutely _anything_ has gone wrong-“

“ _Papa_!” She sounded rightfully exasperated. “ _I’m okay! I had ham!_ ”

Fujimoto accidentally smacked the radio into his forehead and winced. He always does this, every week. The ancient scientist-witch always worries himself to death every week only for his daughter to say the cutest, non-alarming things. He feels himself diffuse and relax for the first time since his spoke with her last week. While she was full of the purest chaos, she also had a knack for calming him down. It was an ability reminiscent of her mother, Granmammare.

“How is everything, Ponyo?” He asks more peaceably.

“ _I love school_!”

“That’s good, that’s wonderful,” Fujimoto smiles. “And how are the humans?”

“ _They’re nice! I love Sosuke! And I love humans, papa_!”

Fujimoto nearly cried. He held the radio tightly because he had no other outlet for the love that was suddenly squeezing his formerly human heart.

The radio made a crackling sound, and his heart dropped. Had he broken the device? Would he ever be able to talk to Ponyo again-

“ _Papa, visit tomorrow!_ ”

Fujimoto sniffled. “You want me to visit, darling?”

“ _Yeah! We can have ham_!”

He gazed towards the shores of Ponyo’s new home. He imagined his daughter running around the modern human house with the boy, Sosuke, while using her magic to make their toy boat bigger so they could ride it again out on the sea. Sosuke’s parents would insist on him staying for dinner.

It made Fujimoto nervous already, but he wanted nothing more than to make his daughter happy and to still be a part of her life.

“I’ll be there.”

“ _I love you papa! See you tomorrow!_ ”


End file.
